Black bird watcher in Central Park accused

By Toniann Gooden
November 8, 2020

Christian Cooper was enjoying the fresh Monday crisp air watching birds in Central Park when Amy Cooper brought her unleashed dog for a walk. 

A portion of Central Park known as the Ramble requires that you have your dog on a leash. The Central Park Conservancy is under contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park.   

Central Park - Manhattan, New York
“Central Park – Manhattan, New York” by Dougtone is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

When passionate birdwatcher C. Cooper saw that A. Cooper had her dog without a leash, he told her that her dog needed to be on leash. It was for the safety of the birds and civilians. 

A. Cooper refused to put her dog on a leash. 

“Look, if you’re going to do what you want, I’m going to do what I want, not going to like it.”  He tried,” C. Cooper said.  He tried to give the dog a treat, but A. Cooper took his Black skin color as a threat.

 “Don’t you touch my dog,” A. Cooper said and then proceeded to call the police. 

Many scenarios like these happen day to day to Black men and women. Some of these incidents are caught on camera.

C. Cooper recorded this confrontation on his phone.  

If it were not for the video no one would really know what really happen.

Cooper’s video begins with A. Cooper walking up to him pushing her finger in his face telling him to stop recording her.  

C. Cooper asks her nicely to not come close to her because COVID-19 is contagious virus. 

Drawling of Christian Cooper.
Photo by: Andres Musta

She potentially put C. Cooper and herself at harm being within six feet instead of staying six feet.

She then called 911 and said there is a Black man threatening her and to send the police officers immediately.  

Then the second undocumented call with the operators, she falsely accused C. Cooper of trying to assault her. 

All C. Cooper wanted was for her to put her dog on a leash so the birds would not be harmed. Instead she used her white privilege against him. 

“It should be a crime to make calls to 911 like that because calls that start like that ends up with the Black man or woman dead,” Johnsey Hackney, a sophomore psychology major, said.   

The video was widely spread with over 40 million people (about twice the population of New York) seeing the racist 911 call. A. Cooper was then fired from her job.  

On Monday, July 6, the Manhattan District Attorney announced that A. Cooper had been charged with filing a false police report. It is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to one year in jail.  

A. Cooper was brought in for her arraignment on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Her lawyers worked out a plea that will require her to perform community service. 

A. Cooper is ordered to return to court on Tuesday, Nov. 17 when the possible plea arrangement would expect to be finalized.  

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Toniann Gooden

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